U.S. Will Help With Olympics Security If Needed, Hagel Says

By Cheryl PellerinAmerican Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 24, 2014 – Top Defense Department officials have
offered the Russian government U.S. help with security during the Feb.
7-23 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, but have received no requests,
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said this afternoon.

Hagel and French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian held a joint
news conference after their meeting at the Pentagon today, and both
answered questions about national responses to threatened terrorist
attacks during the games.

Participants and spectators expected in
the Russian city include a U.S. team of 230 athletes, along with 270
coaches and support staff, as well as about 10,000 American spectators.

“Right now, the Russians have not requested any specific assistance or technology,” Hagel said.

“We want them to know that if they need our help we want to help,” the
secretary added, noting that the department will have two ships in the
Black Sea during the winter games.

“We have had conversations
with the Russian government on the protection of our citizens, of
course,” Hagel said, “[and] if we need to extract our citizens, we will
have appropriate arrangements with the Russians to do that.”

Hagel noted that Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, had an in-depth discussion this week in Brussels about
Sochi and other matters with Gen. Valery V. Gerasimov, his Russian
counterpart. The secretary added that he spoke recently with his Russian
counterpart, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

Speaking through a
translator, Le Drian said that Russia has not asked France for support.
“If the question is, ‘Do you have the intention to ensure the protection
of your citizens that might have problems in Sochi?’ the answer is
yes,” he added.

As is true for other Olympic games, the host country, in this case Russia, has primary responsibility for security.

Later in the afternoon, senior administration officials speaking on
background held a media conference call to discuss increasing attention
on security, reports of threats to the games, and U.S. government
preparations for security support if needed.

The U.S. Olympic
Committee says Team USA’s safety and security are their top priority, a
senior administration official said, and the committee is working with
the State Department, local organizers and law enforcement agencies to
ensure the safety of U.S. delegation members and other Americans
traveling to Sochi.

State Department consular services will be in
force there, and U.S. officials are on the ground now to provide
information, support and services to Americans visiting Russia, the
official added.

Another senior official said the State Department
Diplomatic Security Service leads an interagency group called the
International Security Event Group. “We have been working long and hard
prior to the Olympics to liaise with the Russian government, Russian
security services and Russian forces there, the official added.

“In Sochi, we have diplomatic security agents and representatives from
other federal agencies, including the FBI,” he said, adding that experts
on the ground will man an information hub called the Joint Operation
Center.

During the games, diplomatic security agents will
accompany American team members to all venues and will be on site at all
times to work with Russian government security services and generally
oversee security levels, the official said.

Another senior
official described the uptick in threat reporting and said they are
aware of reports of potential threats during previous Olympic games,
media accounts of female suicide bombers and a video posted online
claiming responsibility for recent bombings in Volgograd and promising
more attacks during the Sochi games.

“We take all such threats seriously,” the official stated.

The U.S. Olympic Committee security coordinator has advised the
athletes not to wear team colors or team uniforms outside accredited
areas. “It’s just good common sense,” a senior administration official
said during today’s conference call.

The United States continues
to work with Russian and international security partners to look into
such reports and will continue to update its security information for
American citizens, another official said.

In terms of contingency
planning, the official added, “the United States relies primarily on
the host country, but the State and Defense departments are doing
prudent planning and making sure assets are available if needed by the
U.S. government or requested by the Russian government.”

The full
resources of the U.S. government are aligned in support of athletes,
delegation members and Americans attending the Olympics, the officials
said.

“U.S.-Russian defense cooperation on different specific
projects -- among them [countering] improvised explosive devices --
predates the issue of Sochi,” a senior official said, “so there is very
good defense cooperation between the U.S. and Russian militaries in
specific areas … because of our common broader interests in cooperating
on counterterrorism.”

The United States and Russia have a working
group under the Bilateral Presidential Commission, and the issue was
also discussed in the call between President Barack Obama and President
Vladimir Putin this week, the official added.

The U.S. Embassy in
Moscow leads an effort to engage with the Russian government directly
on issues of security in Sochi to make sure that U.S. liaison officers
have the right credentials and will have access at the site, according
to the officials.

On e senior official said the United States has
many sources of information it’s using to assess the situation, an
official said, adding that one of the most important venues for such
cooperation is with the U.S. Five Eyes partners, which include the
United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

On the Defense Department’s potential role in Sochi, a senior
administration official said that commander of U.S. European Command,
Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, “wants to make sure he has complete
visibility on the assets in his region and to know what he has
available, including potential airlift and perhaps even sealift, if he’s
called upon for that kind of a mission.”

DOD takes its lead from
the State Department on such overseas events, the official said. “All
we’re doing at this point is the kind of prudent planning and research
into assets available to make sure we [know] what we have and where we
have it, just in case we’re called.”